Li Dan quickly knelt and kowtowed, reporting, "Your Majesty, if you have any orders, I will obey. I am indeed very familiar with Luzon and am willing to go and govern it."
The emperor smiled and said, "You don't have to rush to express your opinion. When you return, write a plan on how to govern and what powers you will need. Present it to me in three days."
After a pause, the emperor continued, "Luzon is not like Mekong Province, let alone Dongfan and Hainan. Immigration is very difficult. Therefore, for a period of time, we can only rely on the local Chinese."
"According to intelligence, there are still as many as 70,000 to 80,000 Chinese in Luzon. If armed, there should be over 10,000 young and strong men, enough to resist the natives and the Western barbarians. The local garrison cannot be too large, around 3,000. As for the navy, there are dozens of warships."
The emperor changed the subject and said with a hint of dissatisfaction, "It's just that I've heard that most overseas Chinese are after money, and don't care much about anything else. Don't they understand that without a strong motherland and sufficient military force to defend themselves, even if they make a lot of money, they can't keep it."
Li Dan bowed and said, "Your Excellency is wise. Overseas Chinese do have this problem. But Luzon may be different. After experiencing the Spanish massacre, they must understand this truth. With Your Excellency and the Ming Dynasty backing them, their concerns will disappear."
What Li Dan said is very important. The emperor's attitude towards overseas Chinese directly determines their fate and the fear of the Western barbarians.
After the second massacre of Chinese in Luzon, the Spaniards were also worried that the Ming government at the time would retaliate, so they sent people to Macau to inquire about the situation.
But the Wanli Emperor believed that the merchants who had long resided in Luzon were not considered ordinary people. The exact responsibility for the overseas disputes had yet to be determined. More importantly, merchants were the lowest class of the four classes. How could a war be waged for them?
Obviously, this attitude of the Ming court condoned the Spanish. In history, in the 12th year of Chongzhen and the 16th year of Yongli, the Spanish massacred the Chinese in Luzon twice.
Now, the emperor did not want history to repeat itself. The attack on Luzon was not only for land reclamation, but also for bloody revenge. The Ming army attacking Luzon would be ordered not to take prisoners of the Spaniards.
After the war, the fleet with the Spanish heads hanging on its head will conduct a long-distance cruise to show off its power in various places in Southeast Asia.
Weakness does not belong to the Ming Dynasty. Tooth for tooth, blood for blood is the Ming Dynasty's policy. As for the Western Barbarians, only iron and blood can make them wake up and let them know how terrifying the Ming Dynasty is when it shows its fangs.
Anyone who dares to challenge the might of the Ming Dynasty will be punished; anyone who kills the people of the Ming Dynasty will be slaughtered.
The emperor wanted to send a clear signal to the outside world, one that was tough, brutal, and bloody. Because he knew that the rules of this world were the survival of the fittest, and the strong were respected.
"If you assume the post of Governor-General of Luzon and guarantee the good governance of Luzon, Li Qing, please feel free to propose any conditions you have." The Emperor smiled and said, "As the first overseas Governor-General appointed by the Ming Dynasty, I have no experience here, and I'm sure the same is true for Li Qing."
"I am terrified," Li Dan said. "Although I have no experience, I will study hard and do my best."
"Good, very good." The emperor nodded and signaled the palace servants to bring some Luzon documents to Li Dan. "Study them carefully over the next few days. I look forward to seeing your policy plan."
Li Dan took the document, bowed and left.
After walking out of the Qianqing Palace, Li Dan shook his head vigorously and bit his lip to make sure that he was not dreaming. He couldn't help but feel surprised and happy.
In the palace, he had forced himself to remain calm, not daring to let the emperor see his ecstasy and excitement. Not only would it be disrespectful, it would also make the emperor look down on him.
Governor-General of Luzon?!
Li Dan knew how big Luzon was, about the same size as a province of Ming Dynasty. Moreover, there were other islands that could also be considered part of Luzon.
In other words, he climbed to the level of governor in one fell swoop, managing a territory larger than that of a governor.
Calm down, calm down!
Li Dan took a deep breath and tried to steady his unsteady steps.
This matter hasn't been finalized yet, so we must not get carried away. Well, we need to think carefully, think hard, about what kind of Governor of Luzon would satisfy the Emperor?
Li Dan slowed down his pace and thought as he walked. Many questions came to his mind.
Logically speaking, the Maritime Merchants Association has made the largest investment in Borneo, especially him, who has spent a lot of money and manpower in recent years.
But Wansui pointed to Luzon, not Borneo. Obviously, this should be an experiment. If Luzon is successful, Borneo will also have a governor.
Well, those investments are nothing. It’s all worth it to have the position of Governor-General of Luzon.
As for the power of the Governor-General of Luzon, it cannot be too small, otherwise he cannot exercise his power; but it cannot be too great, otherwise he will be too greedy and cause dissatisfaction from the emperor.
Well, I don’t want military power, but it’s fine as long as I can obey reasonable orders, suppress the natives and expand the territory.
In addition, in the short term, Wansui regards Luzon as an overseas enclave, seeking low investment and high returns. With his own trade routes and connections, he is confident that he can build Manila into a prosperous commercial port.
When Li Dan walked out of the Meridian Gate, he already had a general idea and his expression became relaxed.
Governor-General of Luzon, Governor-General of Borneo, Governor-General of Jegong (Rangoon)...
After Li Dan left, the emperor sat in the palace, still immersed in thoughts about how to govern and manage overseas territories.
Just as Li Dan thought, the Governor-General of Luzon was indeed an experiment. As long as the Spaniards were eliminated, how Luzon was managed would not affect the overall situation.
The overall goal is to maintain the stability of the Ming Dynasty in the face of disasters and to enable orderly expansion. To put it bluntly, large-scale overseas immigration is not appropriate at this stage.
Not to mention the Ming people's attachment to their homeland, the cost of long-distance sea voyages and relocation alone would become a burden on the court.
If, as the emperor thought, it was only the initial investment in the war, and then the local Chinese were armed and mobilized, not only would the investment be small, but the benefits would also be considerable.
The same is true for Borneo. However, Mekong Province, Dongfan, Hainan, and the Burma area to be occupied are very different in nature.
Simply put, one was the established territory of the Ming Dynasty, and the other was a colony, although the emperor did not like to use this term.
The emperor was not entirely sure whether the colonies could be turned into territories. At least before the disaster was over, overly hasty expansion would likely bring down the Ming Dynasty.
The emperor has already determined that the areas that need to be firmly occupied are the grain-producing areas in the south that are less affected by disasters.
As long as there is a steady supply of food, combined with flexible, diverse and practical policies, it will not be difficult to survive a major disaster.
This is the case in Mekong Province, Dongfan Prefecture, Hainan Prefecture, and Myanmar.
The emperor had a clear sense of importance and could not be accused of being ambitious or aggressive.
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